Conquest for Camelot
by special-agent-pendragon
Summary: "I am so sorry Morgan." He spoke softly, his voice cracking on her name as he tried to keep the tears at bay. The two of them, so powerful but so broken. Trying to rebuild a relationship that was poisoned against them from the start. Two lovers damned by fate.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Silence

Darkness covered the skies completely. It made the castle which loomed on the hill look even more menacing and gothic than it did in daylight. As Morgan's party traveled into the lower town, she could sense something was off. She always could sense things the others could not. The guards were not at their posts by the gates of the city. Everything was coated in silence. A silence so thick that the slightest rustle of skirts, or shift of one's position sounded like something catastrophic.

"Stop the carriages." Morgan demanded in a cool steady voice.

"Yes my Lady." The coachman said as he proceeded to stop the small caravan from moving any farther towards the castle. Morgan swiftly glided down from her position in the coach. She looked around, and noticed that not one torch or candle was lit in any dwelling.

"Something is not right. Not one house bears a light and it is only the tenth hour." Morgan declared as she climbed back in her previous seat. She signaled the coachman to proceed to the castle, hoping that maybe someone would tell her what was going on. When they reached the central courtyard, the party stopped, allowing Morgan and her two serving women, Adelaide and Wren, to exit the coach and approach the castle. Morgan entered through the main doors, and into the great hall. Surprisingly enough, there was no one there. The entire room was empty. Normally, there would be servants doing various chores throughout the night, or the occasional squire or page coming from the servant's hallways. Now, though, there was not a soul in sight. The three made their way towards the King's chambers, as Morgan had to speak to Arthur desperately.

"You two, please stay out here." Morgan said to both the girls. She knocked on Arthur's door, then when there came no reply, she slowly opened it. "Arthur?" she said softly. That was when she saw him, he was sitting at his desk, in the dark, and he was ghostly pale. The brazier was not lit, so the cold November air was seeping in through cracks in the mortar. Morgan shivered and pulled her green woolen cloak even tighter around her shoulders.

"M-Morgan." Arthur slurred, it was if he had just registered her presence, even though she had been in the room at least five minutes.

"Arthur what has happened?" She asked as she lit the candle on the small table beside the bed. There was nothing that could have prepared her for the look on his face. His eyes were glazed over, and he looked as though he had just witnessed some unspeakable tragedy that was too grotesque to even imagine. "Arthur…. are you alright?" She asked as she approached him. She reached out her hand and placed it on his brow. "Arthur you are burning up, shall I fetch the physician?"

"He's gone. They are all gone." He spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

"Arthur, who did this? What has happened?" She tried again. He gripped the sleeve of her cloak and looked up into her eyes. The look of pure terror was engraved on his face.

"Morgan, we have to get out of here, before it is too late." he said, then he fell limp against her side.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Awakening

"Wren, you go fetch Damian, Adelaide, please help me carry him to the great hall." Morgan said supporting the unconscious Arthur against her.

"Yes Morgan." Wren said as she went off to get the coachman.

Adelaide picked up Arthur's feet, while Morgan supported his head. The two slowly, but steadily carried Arthur to the great hall and laid him down on the floor gently. Damian and Wren were there waiting when they arrived.

"What in God's name happened to him?" He exclaimed as he laid eyes on the deathlike appearance of the king.

"I found him in his chambers, he was quite distressed about something. Then he just fainted." Morgan stated, her voice full of worry.

"Did he say anything of dire importance?"

"Just that we had to get out of here, and quickly." She said looking down at Arthur's seemingly lifeless form. "Damian will you help me carry him back to the coach? We need to set up camp for the night, preferably outside the city." said Morgan

"Of course, My Lady." Damian said as he picked up the king and slung him over his shoulder. Damian led the way out of the castle. He put the king in the carriage and helped the girls in as well. Morgan sat right next to Arthur, with Wren and Adelaide in the seat across from them. Morgan gently brushed a strand of golden hair from Arthur's face. Even in his comatose state, he was still beautiful. His cheekbones were carved out to perfection, and when he was awake, his sapphire like eyes bore into your soul, with such innocence that he could convince you to do almost anything. Damian directed the party out of the city safely, and they made camp off the main road, in a woodland clearing. The guards and hands pitched tents and made a pit for a fire. Soon enough, everyone was in their bed rolls, everyone except Morgan. She had refused to leave Arthur to the guard, and volunteered to stay up and watch out for him. His fever was receding, and some color was returning to his face. Druis, the physician's apprentice of her kingdom, had said that Arthur should recover to his full state of health by morning. Morgan sat on a stool by Arthur's cot listening to the noises of the horses and brook nearby. As she looked down on her half brother's sleeping form, she was engulfed in old memories. Arthur and Morgan were lovers once, before Uther had shattered their perfect reality with the cold truth that they had been lied to about her parentage. For they had been told that she was the daughter of Igraine's friend Ayleth, but it wasn't so. Igraine was merely trying to cover up her affair she had with Garridian, a warlock who was passing through, whilst still wed to Gorlois. That's when everything fell apart. Igraine confessed that Morgan was indeed her daughter, and that Arthur was her half brother. That's why they couldn't marry. If only they had known sooner, that whole mess could have been avoided completely. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that Arthur had stirred.

"Morgan…" he spoke smiling at her contentedly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Soul Stone

"Arthur! Oh I was so worried!" Morgan exclaimed her face alight with relief and joy.

"I'm glad you're here Morgan." He said with genuine sincerity.

"What happened at Camelot?" Morgan asked quietly

"It's a long story…."

"We have time."

"Well, It started off a normal day. Everything was in place for your arrival, and court business went on as usual…..Then the warning bells rang. I told Gerald, my manservant to go see what was the matter, and he returned with reports that the sorceress Nimue was seen in the lower town with some sort of magical stone." He paused briefly to look at Morgan, who was hanging on his every word. "So naturally I sent a light foot on patrol to look for anything suspicious. By then though, the witch had altered her appearance. She could look like anyone in the city. I am guessing that she used this magical stone and unleashed some sort of soul sucker. It took away anyone in it's path, and soon, there was no one left in Camelot but me." Arthur concluded and looked at Morgan for her advisement or reaction.

"We need to know more about this stone, and how to defeat the wraith…." She said finally.

"I know, we can return to Camelot at first light to look in the palace libraries."

"I agree. " Morgan said stifling a yawn.

"You're tired, come, you can lay with me." He said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I do not think that is such a good idea…."

"Morgan I am not going to let you sleep on the ground."

"Fine, but don't try anything" she said with a sly smile.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He said grinning as she climbed into the cot with him, her head resting against his shoulder. He heard her breath even out less than two minutes later, she was fast asleep. He closed his eyes and soon followed suit. Morgan's sleep was filled with visions, she saw horrible things. Creatures coming from the depths of Hades, Arthur's soul being sucked by the wraith, Nimue's twisted smiles, and finally herself, dead in the claws of a great winged beast. She awoke with a start, gasping for breath. She felt the wetness of tears on her cheeks and the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Arthur's arm tightened instinctively around her waist "What's wrong Mo?" He said using her childhood nickname.

"I had another premonition." She said, her voice trembling in fear.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Visions

"I was too late to stop the first, but I will prevent the second." Morgan said to Arthur the next morning as they were discussing her dream from last evening.

"Morgan just because you dreamed it doesn't me-"

"Yes it does Arthur. I know what I saw, and it was _not_ just a dream."

"Morgan… It will be ok, we will figure this out, we always do."

"Not this time Arthur, this is a battle that we will not win, I fear for the downfall of Britain itself."

"Maybe we should seek guidance from Merlin, the druid prophet, he has been of help before this."

"Where would the wise one be now? I would not put it passed him to crawl back to Nimue!"

"You should not speak of him like that Morgan, you know what he is capable of!"

"Arthur, what I saw, was pain, and destruction. Your soul was being ripped from your very body by the wraith, I...I was being carried away lifeless by a great winged beast." Morgan said with a shudder. Arthur grabbed Morgan's hand.

"We will find a way, sister. I promise you this." Arthur said looking at her. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, but she still looked absolutely enchanting.

"You should not make promises you cannot keep Arthur." She spoke quietly, pulling her hand away. The last time she said that was when he... Promised that they would always be together...

"Morgan, I never intended to hurt you, I still-"

"Don't, you are only going to make things worse. I have already had my heartbroken once by you Arthur Pendragon. Please do not make me endure that again." She said eyes filling up with tears that she refused to let fall. She really didn't intend for the words to sound so cold and brutal, but they did. Arthur's face reflected the hurt he was feeling in his heart.

"I am so sorry Morgan." He spoke softly, his voice cracking on her name as he tried to keep the tears at bay. The two of them, so powerful but so broken. Trying to rebuild a relationship that was poisoned against them from the start. Two lovers damned by fate.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When we were us

Six summers past: before the marriage rejection, before King Uther died, before the entirety of the madness, they were Morgan and Arthur. Two lovers locked out of love.

At sixteen, Morgan was considered a lost cause. Most ladies her age had already been wedded to their suitors and had their first children. Morgan could be on that path, if she wouldn't have been so difficult. Uther had found numerous good men to take her as a wife, but she refused their hands.

"I simply will not marry a man whom I do not love!" She exclaimed after one of her and Uther's particularly tiresome arguments about her recent refusal to Duke Ganhayrus of Gore. In truth, she did fancy someone, but she knew it would never work.

"Morgan you cannot wither and die an old maid, I will not stand for it! I am going to give you one last try at this and if you fail, I shall have no choice but to give you over to the first suitor that asks." Uther stated sternly.

"How exactly are you going to go about giving me this choice?" She questioned, voice laced with sarcasm.

"There shall be a feast, all the noblemen in the realm shall come. At the end of the night you will chose which one you will marry." Uther stated plainly.

"I suppose that's fair..." She spoke, then turned, departing from Uther's council. Morgan strode to Arthur's chambers where he was supposed to be doing his studies. She cautiously knocked on the thick wooden door. Arthur opened it a moment later.

"Mo!" He exclaimed in his little 15 year old geeky voice.

"Arthur I told you to stop calling me that! I came to ask you a favor."

"It's going to cost you Morgan, you still haven't paid me back for putting the toad in father's wine goblet! I was nearly caught!"

"I will pay you back double then! I need you to forge a letter from the Duke of Gore saying he wants to meet me. I will accept his "invitation" and hide out in the Karrian Wood. You can be my escort!"

"Are you trying to avoid marriage again?

"Maybe..."

"Fine I will help you just for the fact I don't want to see you married... I mean you'll get wedded eventually..."

Morgan's brows rose to her hairline and she had an amused smirk on her face.

"What's the matter Arthur, are you jealous of my future husband?"

"I-I well…. uh, of course not Morgan don't be foolish, even if I wanted to marry you-"

"Did you just say you wanted to marry me Arthur Pendragon?"

"NO! I mean that is not- I mean, I didn't mean that- ugh"

Morgan displayed faked hurt across her face, then busted up laughing.

"Oh Arthur you are so fun to mess with, you get so flustered" she said standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek

"I- um yeah…" Arthur said, heat rising to his face, making his cheeks as red as the Pendragon flags.

"All right, enough games, now it's time to start work on that letter. I am going to the library to see if Geoffery has the seal of Gore. How about you get started writing?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Oh and Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

"You are an idiot"

"Thanks Mo."

Two hours later the teens walked into the throne room where the great King Uther Pendragon was seated.

"Father, I have just received word from Gore. It seems that the Duke would like to meet with Morgan." Arthur spoke, handing the letter over to his father.

"Is that so?" Uther inquired reading over the letter. "It seems that Duke Ganhayrus is quite taken with you Morgan."

"Oh?"

"He would like to meet you tomorrow at Willow Peak. It is such a shame that we will have to postpone your feast."

"Indeed my Lord, I was very much looking forward to it."

"Worry not my dear, we may not have to hold a feast after all. That is, if things go well with Ganhayrus."

"Whom shall I take as an escort?"

"I would be more than happy to escort Morgan on her outing, Father."

"Very well, Arthur, tomorrow morning you and Morgan shall set out towards Willow Peak. Be sure you take the valley, not the overpass."

"I will Father."

"Well if that is all you wanted, I have a meeting of the council to attend."

At that, Morgan and Arthur the turned and walked out of the throne room, grins plastered to their faces.

"Sooo Moorgaan, whatever will we do all alone, in the woods, just the two of us?" Arthur asked with a playful smile on his face.

"Arthur Pendragon, stop being such a knave! I will not be the victim of your twisted fantasies!"

"Awww come on Morgan, you know I am only kidding!" He said bumping shoulders with her and causing her to smile. He loved her smile. He was constantly trying to make her grin, just because he thought her smile was the most radiant thing in the world. In truth, Arthur was completely besotted with her. She was a goddess. Her long, dark, hair framing her pale face and flowing loosely down her back made her look angelic. Her dazzling green eyes looked like precious emeralds, that he often got lost in. And God that dress she was wearing! The ruby red dress with gold stitch work hugged her in all the right places, and-

"Arthur!"

"Huh?"

"You were staring again…."

"Oh….. sorry."

"It's fine. I'm glad that you see something you like."

"I DO N-"

"Don't even try to deny it Arthur Pendragon. This isn't the first time I've caught you staring. Honestly I'm quite flattered. I think it's rather cute."

"You- you do?"

"Oh yes. And between you and me, I am looking forward to our outing tomorrow." She whispered, flirtation dripping from her voice.

"Oh, that's um, nice. I am too." he mumbled shyly.

"Goodnight Arthur." She spoke softly, then turned and left his presence.

"Goodnight my Morgan." He said to the emptiness in the room.

Arthur and Morgan set off for the Karrian Wood at first light. They rode for an hours time, then set up camp for the day by a small brook. Morgan laid out a picnicking blanket for them to lay on, and the two turned their horses loose to graze on the lush grass surrounding the brook. Arthur had snuck some fluffy rolls filled with sweet meat, raspberry tarts, and honey seed cakes out of the palace kitchens for them to snack on throughout their day together. Morgan had also brought changes of clothes for the two of them, incase they were to go swimming.

"Arthur, I think this is the most brilliant thing we have ever done." Morgan said, as she lay on the blanket watching the clouds drift across the sky.

"I agree, although putting pepper in Lord Merlin's drink was pretty impressive."

"Oh yes, how could I forget? The man jumped about like some sort of demon had possessed him." Morgan spoke, laughing at the memory.

"Yes, and he yelled that the fire of Hades had been quickened in his mouth!" Arthur exclaimed, laughing with giddy.

"Arthur do you remember the time that we replaced the oil your mother puts in her hair with Fendrel's blue wool dye?"

"How could I not? She had that blue streak in her blonde hair for months!"

"I am just surprised they didn't figure out it was us who did it."

"No, according to them, we are "much too innocent to be doing anything of the sort." Someday they will see just how "innocent" we are."

"How do you suppose we do that?"

"By throwing something at them the whole kingdom will be talking about…"

"Like what?"

"Like this." He said. Then he leaned down and kissed her. It was a slow, gentle kiss, but it made Morgan's heart beat so wildly in her chest she thought it would burst. It only lasted a few seconds, then she pulled away, eyes wide.

"Oh God Morgan I shouldn't-" he was interrupted by her lips crashing into his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he threaded his fingers through her raven hair. Their lips fit together like pieces of a puzzle, and it just felt so… right. Neither had ever done anything like this before, and the rush of adrenaline was that of complete bliss. It wasn't long before both were out of breath and had to pull away, breathing heavily.

"Wow, that was…." Morgan trailed off.

"The most brilliant thing we have ever done?"

"Definitely."


End file.
